1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to data access network systems. More particularly, this invention relates to a system and method for allowing a data service system within a data access network system to classify user access requests such that the data service system can provide class-based services to its users.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of a data access network system is an Internet/Intranet network system. An Internet/Intranet network system typically includes a data service system and an interconnect network that connects the data service system to subscriber or user terminals or to other data service systems. The data service system is typically referred to as an Internet/lntranet Service Provider (ISP) system. The ISP system can host a number of content sites. The ISP system can also be connected to other ISP systems via an interconnect network, thus forming the Internet/Intranet network system. The users connected to the ISP system can access the content sites within the ISP system or the content sites within the other ISP systems via the network.
An ISP system typically includes web and/or content servers that host contents for various customers or applications. The customers are the owners of the contents hosted in the ISP system such that subscribers or users can access the contents via their computer terminals. The content servers typically utilize Internet applications, such as electronic mail, bulletin boards, news groups, and World Wide Web access. The hosted contents are arranged in the form of content sites within the content servers. Each site may include a number of pages (e.g., world wide web pages). A content site is typically for one customer while a particular customer may own a number of content sites.
Disadvantages are associated with this prior approach. One disadvantage is that the ISP system is not equipped to give different processing treatments to the users accessing a web site within the ISP system. As is known, the ISP system can be accessed by multiple users to a single web site at the same time. The ISP system typically handles the user access requests for that web site in the first-come-first-served (FIFO) fashion. This means that all of the users of the ISP system receive the same and equal treatment and no preferential treatment is allowed for any class of users. As a result, the ISP system does not support class-based service which allows access requests for the same content site to receive different processing treatments.